Go Vegetarian!

Are you starting to cut meat out of your diet? Lots of people I know are now exploring a plant-based diet. For Baby Boomers and older adults, this is an important shift in lifestyle. A healthy vegetarian diet includes foods that are high in nutrient density, while minimizing processed foods, fats and animal products. These diets have been shown to be beneficial for:

• weight loss
• decreasing the risk of diabetes
• decreasing incidence and death from heart disease
• lowering blood pressure

And in areas of the world with the greatest concentration of centenarians, meat is consumed only about once a week.

Abstaining from meat, poultry and fish can be tricky and require a bit of creativity. A strict vegan diet contains no meat or dairy products; everything is plant-based. A lacto-ovo vegetarian avoids meats but includes dairy and egg products; this is a great place to start when beginning to think plant-based.

So here are some ideas to get you started–10 protein snacks for lacto-ovo vegetarians (approximately 10 grams of protein per serving):

Eggs are a great protein snack for lacto-ovo vegetarians.

1) 1 hard-boiled egg + 1 serving whole-grain crackers

2) 1/2 cup hummus + celery and carrot sticks

3) 1/2 low-fat cottage cheese + 1 sliced banana

4) 2 Tb. peanut butter + 1 whole-grain English muffin

5) 1 stick of string cheese + 1 handful of grapes

6) 1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt + 1 sliced apple with cinnamon

7) 1 smoothie (1 scoop protein powder + 8 oz water + 1 cup spinach + 1 ripe banana + 1/4 cup blueberries + ice)

8) 2 Tb. almond butter + 1 slice whole-wheat toast

9) 1 oz. almonds + 1 Tb. raisins

10) cheese quesadilla (1 whole-grain small tortilla + 1 Tb. shredded cheese + salsa)

Don’t be afraid to experiment with a plant-based diet. Lots of ideas and recipes are available online. Start by replacing one meal (Meatless Mondays) and then expand from there!

For more ideas on healthy eating and lifestyles, give me a call!

We can discuss some practical tips and discover if any of my programs or classes are a good fit for you.
If you’d like to schedule that call with me, just CLICK THIS LINK, and let me know in the message that you would like a 1-on-1 call with me right away and I will be in touch to schedule that – oh, and leave me your phone number in there too since email is not as reliable as it used to be! Thanks.

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